T.E.A. Party scheduled for Tax Day

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, April 12, 2009

BAD AXE — On April 15, if you feel taxed by the governmental system, you may want to participate in a T.E.A. party. Instead of holding dainty cups filled with a warm, fragrant beverage, you’ll be invited to hold a sign in protest of the U.S. tax system.

Tom Holdwick of Harbor Beach has organized a Taxed Enough Already (T.E.A.) Party protest rally, which will start at noon Wednesday in front of the Huron County Building. Similar rallies are being planned throughout the country. According to www.teapartyday.com, almost 2,000 rallies have been organized so far.

Holdwick said the rally is a bipartisan event “born out of taxpayer frustration.”

“I decided to organize this rally because I want to find out if there are people out there as frustrated as I am,” he said. “I’m 42 years old and have been working for 26 years, which is right around 47,000 hours. My wife and I have always paid our life insurance ahead of buying an iPod. We have been doing everything right, and all I hear is, ‘Share the wealth.’ Just once, I would like to hear, ‘Share the work.’”

Holdwick said people in the U.S. have been hearing that they must make sacrifices, and this means paying more taxes.

“How do you pay more taxes if you are losing your job or getting reduced hours?,” he said. “It is time that the younger generation, with all their starry-eyed ideas, realize they will be inheriting $11 trillion in debt or more. Free money isn’t free.”

He said he’s upset by the government bailouts because someone has to decide who gets the money and which companies are worth saving.

“It seems like if you are a financial institution, then no problem. If you are a car company that employs millions of workers, then you must sacrifice,” he said. “I want a smaller government, and one that will let the free market work. Bad companies need to be allowed to fail. It’s the only fair way.”

He said other people may feel the same as he does, or they may have other reasons why they’d want to participate in the T.E.A. Party rally.

“Please grab a yardstick, attach a poster board to it, write on the poster board why you are there, and let your voice be heard,” he said.

Holdwick said this is the first time he’s organized such an event, and he did so to “blow off some steam.” He said so far, 18 people have indicated they will attend the rally.

For more information on the rally, or to add your name to the Huron County list of participants, contact Tom Holdwick at (989) 479-9053.

Another T.E.A. Party rally is being planned for Wednesday in Caro in front of the Tuscola County Building. For more information, call Renee Wood at (989) 673-2179.